


Misfits

by thonghyuckies



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alcohol, Angst, Drug Abuse, Drug Use, NCT Dream - Freeform, Post-Apocalypse, i'm trying to break hearts but glue them too, nct dream au, this is fun but also sad, this is going to be triggering
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-08
Updated: 2019-04-08
Packaged: 2020-01-06 17:10:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18392735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thonghyuckies/pseuds/thonghyuckies
Summary: An apocalypse takes out society as it used to be. Most people turn to a nastier life, especially in the city. There, you can find a group of seven, surviving together among horrid conditions.





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> Basically, this is just an introduction to this AU, I’m working on more parts for the story, I'm sorry if updates are slow.
> 
> I'm also brand new to ao3, I hope I'm doing this right!

_“Ever since the apocalypse, shit hasn’t been the same. It’s been a long time and society is starting to come back, but the world, at least here, isn’t the same. There’s constant fighting, robberies, drug deals, and explosions.. and to be fair, we do cause half of that.. but it’s all part of the fun right?” -Mark Lee_

In typical fashion, the seven boys who had deemed themselves the “Dreamies”, were all out and about on the street. Mark Lee, the eldest, visited older friends on a much rougher side of the city for… supplies. They lived in the west and Mark’s friends, Yukehei, Yuta, and Johnny, lived in the south end. Mark’s specific branding of supplies tended to be drugs, harder to come by in the west end. They weren’t to abuse, that's a story for another time, they were given to Chenle, who used them in case of emergency. the one exception was weed, that of which all but Mark used occasionally to calm the nerves and anxieties that came with the lives they lived.

On a more innocent note, Huang Renjun traveled around more barren parts of the city covering clean walls in murals using spray paints. He was more of a runner for everyone, who typically stuck around anyone younger. If something went wrong, he would run off to find Jeno or Jaemin for help. He’s a fast runner, which the Dreamies quickly learned after seeing him run from the police. That’s how they met him, too. He and Chenle had been wandering and messing around not being able to find steady shelter, when he almost got completely caught by the police. If it hadn’t been for Jaemin, the two of them would be dead.

Lee Jeno stalked around the nasty parts of the city, ready to fight for anyone who couldn’t fight for themselves. In a physical sense, he was the strongest of the seven, and often found himself standing up for those who couldn’t stand for themselves. He protected his friends with all his heart and energy, and protects innocent people with whatever strength he’s left with. Most of the time, he’ll come back to the warehouse they call home bruised and cut up, occasionally bloodstained. The Dreamies are only worried whether it’s his, it doesn’t matter if it’s someone else’s anymore.

Donghyuck, better known as Haechan around the city, could be found wreaking havoc on people with too much, just enough to distract 'em and swipe something. He was one of the more relaxed of the seven. Occasionally, getting high with Mark before heading out to prank people. In all honesty, he wasn’t just the most relaxed, but he’s the softest of them all. Haechan has never hurt anyone but himself in a prank. Often times you’d find him crouched down with a curious child teaching them small tricks to pull on their friends. Other than kids, he tends to avoid pranking pregnant women or older people. Not many people know, including the Dreamies, but Renjun knows, and that's enough for Haechan.

Jaemin usually tags along with whoever needs a bit more help, ready to run to whoever calls out to him. He's most commonly found nearby Jeno, who sometimes needs backup in a fight. Just as often, he can be found with Renjun, who often found himself in sticky situations. Jaemin was a good fighter, and good with his words. So the combination of Renjun and Jaemin were fantastic at getting out of bad situations together. Jaemin wasn’t so much a street rat, but someone who was relied on at home and someone who would happily take care of his friends when they're weighed down by issues much deeper than others could know.

Chenle could be found accompanied by Jaemin or Jisung, looking for medical supplies and other things of that sort. With Haechan and Jeno around, there was never enough. He carries around a small first aid kit while he wanders through the admittedly safer parts of towns, occasionally stopping if he saw someone with a wound he feared would get infected if he didn’t do something. He was far to innocent and kind to live in a world like this one, giving even someone who might hurt him medical attention. Jaemin would usually accompany him on excursions like those, where he could easily whisk Chenle away from danger.

Finally, the youngest, Jisung could usually be found nearby Haechan, swiping food or medical supplies while the elder pulled off ridiculous pranks. Small explosions would ring in the air with the subtle sound of Haechan’s laughter while Jisung sweeps in to snag whatever it is that they need. The explosions weren’t common though, and if they were used, very tiny. Jaemin always made sure to stop anything bigger. Jisung was small and nimble, but tall, so if needed, he could grab things from above quickly and quietly.

The Dreamies appeared to be a strong gang from the outside, but if one were to look on the inside, they’d see a family of seven boys fighting to survive in a world that refuses to let you live. If bad feelings arose, they had each other to hold onto and rely on. The environment outside of their warehouse was dreary and violent, while what they had inside was warm and happy. So long as they had each other, there was less to fear in the rotten world.


	2. Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How Renjun and Chenle found themselves in the city.
> 
> A backstory.

A loud sigh rang through the silent and large house. A pin drop could be heard, that’s how it always had to be when the madam was home, if not, you were sure to get your ass handed to you. Renjun immediately regretted making the sound, eyes widening as he realized what he had done. The slightly taller younger boy next to him darted his eyes to the door of their small bedroom. It was already late, they were to be settling for bed silently as to not bother anyone. The two frozen boys anxiously waited for the vile woman to burst through the door and shout at Renjun, disturbing the silence she begged for. 

The place where the two boys lived was a home for children who had lost everything but their lives during the end of all things. It was a horrible and painful place to live, but once you were pulled through those doors, there was no chance of getting out again until the day you turned 19. The Madam was a devil-woman, screaming at the innocent children she forced to stay with her, enforcing silence so long as she was in the home, and refused to do them any favors. To  her, the only favor she ever needed to provide was holding them like prisoners.

They expected the foul woman to run in with a yardstick and a scowl, but she never came. The fear they felt in that moment was enough proof to Renjun that they needed to get out. That was the moment the two boys realized that this wasn’t the life they wanted to live until they became adults. The thought entering Renjun’s mind that he would age much before Chenle, and leaving him alone in this hell was never going to be an option.

That night, the two of them slept in the same bed. It was one of the only things that comforted the boys, other than the other singing. Chenle was still a young boy, no matter what he said and he was all that mattered in Renjun’s life at the moment. Despite Chenle being taller than him, Renjun still held him close to his chest as if he was tiny, running his fingers through his hair. He channeled his mother on nights like this, repeating all her comforting actions to the boy wrapped around him as they both drifted off to sleep. Before they could both fall asleep, Renjun whispered by Chenle’s ear, “I’m gonna get us out of here, I promise you.” 

The following morning was the one day they had off, wednesday. While it was a weird day to have off, it was the day that the witch left for the day. The only thing that the mass of orphans had to do was make sure the building was clean, which was much easier for them to do than expected. They left the entire place clean the night before and stayed in bed as long as possible. If they left bed, they’d clean behind each of their steps and whatever mess they left in the kitchen.

Renjun was the first of the two to wake up, noticing the way Chenle held him like he would somehow stop existing if he let up his grip. The younger boys eyebrows were furrowed, indicating that he wasn’t having the greatest dream. He always clinged to Renjun, but he didn’t care, they were grateful that they had each other. They would always have each other, that was promised. Either way, upon noticing Chenle’s unrest, Renjun pulled him closer as he began singing a song in Mandarin. It was one of the only things that could comfort him while he slept. The words reminding him of his mother, of simpler times.

The boy stilled as Renjun pulled him closer for more comfort. As others in the house began getting hungry, they carefully filed through the kitchen, cleaning after them and grabbing the first edible thing they could find. Their presence reminded Renjun of how everyone thought the way he and Chenle interacted was weird, telling them to their faces that they were disgusting. Renjun knew better though, it was easy to be jealous of someone who still had some form of family or someone to love. He was grateful that he had someone to protect and someone to love, so he waved off anything anyone had to say on the matter.

When Chenle finally woke up, he was greeted with Renjun quietly reading the words to a novel they had both read about 10 times each. “Good morning,” squeezed out Chenle as he stretched himself out, “Did I sleep late?”

Renjun smiled, “Just a bit, but I have a plan for today.” His voice was hushed as he looked around the room, planting confusion into Chenle’s head. “We’re gonna get out of here. We’re gonna get out of here today. It’s now or never, Chenle. We’ve gotta go.” A massive sense of determination was planted in his voice, confident for the first time in months.

Before Chenle could shout, Renjun covered his mouth, shushing the boy. He quickly tugged the older boys hand away, whisper-shouting, “What do you mean we’re getting out?! Where can we even go?! Is it safe?!” questions zoomed through his head along with fear, the both of them wanted to be free again, Renjun seemed much less afraid of what might happen as a result of it, though.

Renjun immediately went to reassuring him, “Chenle, breathe. It’s gonna be okay, I’m gonna be there so nothing bad can happen to you. We just have to pack what we have and go. No one will know, everyone stays in bed today. We can’t fail! We have to try at least, we can go to the city, there’s lots to do there and no one will find us.” As he spoke, he stood, pulling a duffle from under the bed. “We can put stuff in here with my paints and you have your backpack, right? Let’s pack up what’s ours and get going as soon as possible.”

Reluctantly, Chenle stood up and started grabbing his things. “Alright, I wanna get out of here,” he looked to Renjun with big eyes, “But.. just promise you won’t leave me?” 

Renjun’s eyes blew wide, “Of course I’d never leave you. I promise that no matter what happens, I’ll always be by your side. We’re family, remember? Family doesn’t separate.” After giving Chenle a quick pat on the head and a smile, he continued to quietly grab the little belongings they had. Chenle quietly went back to work as well. Grabbing mostly clothes and light personal things and stuffing them into their individual bags.

“You ready?” Questioned Renjun, looking towards Chenle who nodded. They both slung their bags over their shoulders, nodding towards each other. Renjun slowly opened the window, grateful now that they had the only rooms at the back of the house, but terrified that their room was on the third floor. “Make sure your bag is secure on you, we’re gonna climb down this pipe, okay? Wait for me to get to the bottom, then you start climbing.” Chenle gave a quick nod again, watching Renjun start to go down the pipe. 

The moment Renjun made it to the grass and put his bag down, he waved down to Chenle. He immediately grabbed hold onto the pipe and instead of climbing, he slid. From the ground, Renjun could hear small pained noises coming from Chenle. “Grip onto it! Use your feet!” shouted Renjun in a slightly panicked tone. 

Chenle seemingly didn’t hear him as he approached the ground, falling at a rapid pace as he tried to grip onto the pipe. Renjun quickly ran over so he was able to catch Chenle or at least break his fall. The second Chenle fell into his arms, he held him close and grabbed the duffle, booking it towards the treeline, afraid that they had been heard. As he ran he felt Chenle grip onto him, some moisture seeping through to Renjun’s skin, which he assumed was Chenle crying. “Hey.. Chenle it’s okay,” he spoke, still running towards the trees, “We’re out!”

Chenle stayed quiet, which was unusual, but Renjun assumed it was due to what he thought was tears. When they finally made it to a place where they couldn’t be seen easily, Renjun set Chenle down onto a tree that had fallen over. The moment he got a good look at him, he wanted to cry. What Renjun assumed was tears turned out to be blood coming from his newly skinned hands. Now, tears rolled down Chenle’s cheeks as he avoided looking at the older boy standing before him. 

Squatting down in front of him Renjun spoke in a worried tone, “It was the pipe right? Shit.. let me see?” As he gently took his hands in his own, he winced. “Shit Chenle, I’m so sorry.. Do you have any medical supplies in your bag?” 

Chenle quickly shook his head no, pressing his cheek into his shoulder to wipe away his tears. “Alright, let me just…” he trailed off and began digging through his bag. He pulled out a clean shirt and began ripping it apart to wrap up the boys hands. “there,” he said after finishing his not-so-handy work, “is that better? I know it's not medical at all but.. it’s better than nothing, right?” 

“It doesn’t hurt too bad, it’s okay. So where are we heading?” Chenle asked, false conviction in his voice. False conviction was better than nothing, so Renjun helped him up and they began walking towards what they thought was a populated area. The general idea was to get to the city, but at the same time not really knowing anything other than they were free from the witch of a woman who fostered them. Back in that sick house, they were unable to have any freedom, and now they were free as birds. 

As night began to fall on their long walk, bright stars began shine. The view itself quieted the two boys, who had been laughing and joking the entire walk. Among the stars the boys began to notice weak lights in the distance, a clear sign of the city. “Look..” breathed out Renjun, “That’s where we’re headed. There’s more there for us.” Chenle’s eyes were fixed on the lights, sparkling the reflection. He was quiet once again, but soon enough, they were back to their antics of joking about. They walked and walked until they couldn’t, deciding to rest for the night. 

The two of them slipped jackets on, laying down on the dirt. They took to their usual cuddling, and Chenle was asleep in an instant. Renjun kept his eyes were focused on the sky, unable to sleep as soundly as he wished. He pondered what it would be like to be a bird, able to fly freely to wherever he pleased. He was unable to grasp his new freedom still, he was almost as free as a bird. That night, rather than being kept up with his thoughts, he was lulled gently to sleep.

The following morning, they put away anything they had taken out of the bags. Chenle looked to Renjun, cheering “Today we’ll get to the city. Lets go!” and with that, the two boys took off. The walk was a short one, taking only an hour or so to reach the city from a highway that nature decided to take back. The city wasn’t as bustling or beautiful as it was years ago, but there were still wanderers. Druggies and alcoholics roamed and the two did everything to avoid them.

The streets were dirty and taken back by the nature that was underneath. They wandered aimlessly, talking to each other about what was next for them. They ended up wandering into an alleyway, an empty wall appealing to Renjun, calling him to pull out the long forgotten cans of spray paint from his duffle, dropping the bag near a corner. Chenle smiled knowingly, joy seeping into his eyes again just seeing Renjun so happy. The younger boy took a seat on the ground, ready to fiddle around and watch his elder paint his feelings out onto the all too barren wall.

The two boys slipped masks on to avoid the fumes before the chemicals floated their way into the air. Soon enough, Renjun’s hands floated through the air as he began spraying paint onto the wall outlining a large bird. He thought of himself, finally free as a bird, burning in the sky ready to find his worth and self. His fun ended all too soon when he heard a deep rough voice shout out, “Hey! Vandalism is illegal, kid!” When the two boys looked, they saw that voice came from a man clad in a police officer’s uniform, knife sheathed to his side, right next to two pairs of handcuffs.

Quickly, Renjun shoved his paint into the duffle and hoisted it onto his shoulder, yanking Chenle up while the policeman approached. He began running as fast as he could, pulling along the younger boy. “Keep your mask on, don’t say either of our names. It’s safer that way!” Renjun whisper-shouted, trying to protect himself, but more importantly, Chenle. 

Tripping over boxes, running through alleys, and trying not to get cornered, the boys found themselves able to lose the officer. Even though he was no longer in sight, they didn’t stop running. Then, without warning, a tall boy in a leather jacket jumped out from behind a wall, causing a collision with Renjun and Chenle. 

The mysterious, leather-clad boy spoke, “Hey, what’s the rush? You two bein’ chased by the feds or something?” and much to his surprise, the two boys in front of him helplessly nodded. Renjun was next to speak, “Look, we don’t know what to do. Can you help us or should we keep running?” While his voice wavered in an attempt to be powerful, he had an innocent look in his eyes, basically begging the taller boy to help.

“I’ll help you,” he said, sticking out a hand for the boys to shake, “I’m Jaemin, follow me.” Even knowing his name put some of Renjun’s nerves out. As he quietly grabbed Chenle’s hand protectively, he decided to introduce himself. “I’m Renjun, this is Chenle,” he said, nodding towards the younger. “Hey! What happened to not saying out names!?” questioned Chenle, causing Jaemin a fair amount of amusement. “I guess he trusts me more than officer jackass.. At least I hope. So, tell me, how old are you two?” Jaemin said, walking ahead of the two of them.

“I’m 18, Chenle here is 16, ‘bout to be 17, though. You?” Renjun suddenly felt much more comfortable with this stranger named Jaemin, taking in the details of his face while they walked. 

“Funny, I’m 18, too,” he chuckled, “look, I’m bringing you two to a warehouse where I have about 4 people who mean the world to me. I see you guys need help, but what can you do? How can you help  _ us _ .” Jaemin pressed, yanking down the bottom of Renjun’s mask to expose his face. Renjun’s jaw dropped at his forwardness, but kept what was left of his cool.

Renjun didn’t know what to say, but spoke anyway, “I’m not much. I’m fast and a good painter, good at talking myself out of things. Chenle here is good with medical stuff. He was trained by a surgeon, knows more than a lot of the people I’ve seen around. If I’m not enough for you, I hope Chenle’s skills are excuse enough to keep us around.” 

Jaemin smiled, “Perfect.. We’ve got a guy, Jeno, he fights for us.. And come to think of it, Haechan’s projects tend to.. Blow up.. The two of them could use a medic like you,” he patted Chenle’s back, quickly tugging down his mask too. “As for you..” he trailed, looking to Renjun, “Fast is good, we always need someone who can run. Talking is a good skill too, half the time, you can get out of things with words rather than actions.” Now, he grabbed Renjun’s shoulder as the three of them came to the door of a large warehouse.

He stopped everyone in front of the door “This is it,” he spoke, grabbing the doorknob and opening it, “Hey! I’m back!” he called out. “Now, let me introduce you to everyone,” he said, pulling the two boys through the door. Jaemin explained the exact situation and told the 4 guys before them why they should be there. Eventually nodding, one by one, they all introduced themselves. 

Jeno came first, tall with dark hair and a hard expression, clad in a leather jacket and blue jeans. Renjun was nearly intimidated by the bruises and cuts on the taller boy, until he smiled and shook his hand. Then Haechan, who explained that his real name was Donghyuck, but only Mark called him that. He was soft looking, despite black ripped jeans paired with a black and red shirt he’d tucked in. Jisung came next, excited to learn that Chenle was near his age. He was tall, Renjun and Chenle almost assumed him to be the oldest, especially with the way he looked in his dark clothing. Finally, the eldest, Mark introduced himself. He was much less intimidating than anyone would expect for the oldest of a group like this. He was dressed in a jean jacket over his black t-shirt.

Mark was immediately kind, “from what Jaemin’s told us, you two have been through a lot, but have a lot to offer. We haven’t known you long at all, but you’re welcome to stay with us.” His voice was strong and confident, making Renjun and Chenle smile and nod to him in thanks.

Nothing could’ve made them happier. Before it was just Renjun and Chenle. Now, it was Renjun, Chenle, Jaemin, Jeno, Haechan, Jisung, and Mark. Their family now seven rather than two, six other people trust. The escape the two boys risked was more worth it than they could have ever dreamed of. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as opposed to the first "chapter", this was very long.


End file.
